Seven years
ago, by “accident” and in pure “guerrilla style” (detailed
info by e mail only)we
ended up hiking the entire length of the Kepler Track, one of the nine New Zealand Great Walks. The hike was memorable and ever since I wondered when will I
have the chance to do a Great Walk
again.

Before
leaving Ecuador a few months ago I found out that DOC(NZ Department of
Conservation) had opened the Heaphy Track to mountain bikes for a trial period
of three years.

The Heaphy
is the longest of all Great Walks with 80km of uninterrupted trail starting at Golden Bay and finishing at isolated Karamea (see map). The track was opened
hundreds of years ago by local Maori as a route to seek for “pounamu” and "paua" in the mythical west coast. Gold miners followed their footprints in the early
1900s, and nowadays hikers from all over the world book “online” their fast-selling hut pass to do the
track in the summer months. In winter, as most of these traverses, the Heaphy
sees little traffic and for now, while the trial period lasts, it welcomes a few
adventurous bikepackers.

The ride
looked appealing to us right from the beginning and after clearing some doubts
with the local forecast and sorting out ride and hut logistics, we finally
found ourselves at the Kahurangi National Park by the Heaphy Track trail head.
Bikes packed and ready.

Our plan:
to ride the Heaphy there and back in four days.

-- 17 km of gentle uphill welcome you into the Heaphy Track as you climb 1000 meters towards Perry saddle.

-- Character full beech, podocarp and rata forest.

-- and moss

-- Coming out into the alpine.

-- The terrain on the first day varies from easy smooth gravel to very technical loose rock.
The riding is always rewarding

2 comments:

Really liked these photos...especially producto de Escocia, and the ski/surface hoar/rime...(which one is it?) Makes me want to visit NZ, seems like an amazing place to bike. It seems crispy cold there, some of my favorite weather. Its amazing to see how familiar and at the same time unique different terrain is. We hope you both are enjoying your adventure, Vic